Thought processes and conversations started under the tilted cap of Tropicana Field. Someday everyone will know the Rays play in St. Petersburg, Florida, not TAMPA, or the fictitious city of TAMPA BAY.

Rays 2010 Commercial Lacks “Wow” Factor

Tampa Bay Rays 2010 Commercial

I got to admit, I love the big sound of the drum line resonating in the foreground of the Tampa Bay Rays 2010 Television commercials. But there is something missing…. Something is missing we have seen for the last several years in Rays advertising. How yeah! A slogan. We have been bombarded in the past with “Heart and Soul”, “Feel the Heat” , “Catch Some Rays”, “We Are One Team” and Major League Baseball’s own “I Live For This” campaign.

But the rapid fire interaction of fans and players in the commercial does go great with the drum line music. See Carl Crawford taking a base away from the opposition, or seeing Even Longoria tee-off on a long ball into Section 146 of Tropicana Field can get me excited for the April 6th game, but what then…What happens after that?

Well, the Rays have a call out to all drum lines in the Tampa Bay area to repeat or bring your own style to the auditions to maybe have your own sound bytes on a future Rays commercial. And over the years we have heard several local groups before Rays games get out there and beat their drum skins and mix music with synchronized dancing to the beat. And that is a great thing that the Rays advertising guru’s want to reward the music makers of Tampa Bay.

But something is missing in these commercials. Something seriously is missing and needs to have a place within the next generation of the Rays produced ads. And it is really quite simple what is missing to me. It is the players themselves. I loved the old Raysvision commercials produced when John Franzone was here where we saw speedster Carl Crawford racing a wiener dog at Derby Lane. Or the ex-Heckler and my friend Keith as the caddie out at the Vinoy Golf Course getting robbed by Rocco Baldelli catching the fly golf ball.

Tampa Bay Rays 2009 Season Ticket Commercial

These commercials brought us into the player’s realm where we like to feel safe. For some odd reason, the commercials that have featured small segments with either the players in the action, or even Rays Manager Joe Maddon discussing the player, using their nicknames from 2009 brought you closer to the team. But this is the first segment of the Rays trying to get you to come out and experience the Rays carnival atmosphere that will be stage front in 2010.

Sure the many activities will still go on in Rightfield and Leftfield Street before the games, but there are many planned activities besides the Hess Express/Rays Saturday Night Concert Series to gain your attention. Every Friday night there will be a series of fireworks 10 minutes after the game indoors. Now this has been done before in Tropicana Field, but most fans remember it was pre-game, and the smoke decided to stay within Tropicana Field for most of the game that night.

2007 Colorado Rockies Commercial

I was hoping the Rays would go the route of the Colorado Rockies who have been producing for years player involved commercials and funny interactions that make each of those players featured more human and extremely approachable. The commercial above was even done about 5 years ago and you can see how the Rockies advertising uses a great dose of humor in their ads to get their fan’s attention.

And that has been one of the Rays key thing in the past. They are one of the most approachable teams in the Major Leagues, and the Rays should bank on that popularity and build a further fan base from it. Because the Rays are so easy to get to know and talk to, maybe a commercial where a 10-year old and Carlos Pena talk about life. Or Maybe a moment with a fan where Rays reliever J P Howell teaches a lecture on the physics of the curveball. Humor is a big part of the Rays clubhouse, why not also bring it to the Tampa Bay community in their commercials?

But what do I know. I only minored in Advertising/Marketing in college, so my views might be 25 years old in concept, but then again, they might have good merit. But what I know is the team is striving to gain additional fans into the seat on nights that traditionally have shown a sea of blue seats to television cameras and the Nation on game highlights on ESPN and other media outlets. Maybe the key to getting those fans is to utilize their best natural resource, their players, in more future advertisements.

2009 Orlando Regional Tampa Bay Rays Commercial

It is kind of funny, this commercial above was made last season to try and get fans from the Orlando area to attend Rays game, but not sure how that worked out for the Rays. It was a bit boring, but it looked more like a fan produced video, which showed more creativity than some I have seen in recent years.

Both print and visual commercials could be spiced up quickly with plays off of players like B J Upton scaling the wall like Spiderman, or even an old black and white commercial with Zorilla hitting homers into small scale cities. The possibilities are endless if you let your mind wander a bit and think outside the batter’s box on this concept.

Not to say tongue-in-cheek humor like that will fill the stands, but it will generate a buzz in the Tampa Bay community, which could easily translate into fans in the seats wanting to see what magic will happen that night….What about you?

2 Comments

Greg,
That is interesting since there is only one 2010 commercial listed on the blog.
But I agree, the 2009 Rays commercials and the 2007 Rockies commercial are fantastic.
But the 2010 Rays commercial was a 18 second collage of actions splices and drum beat only….To me, kind if one-dimensional, like Pat Burrell’s personality.

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